As you can see in the chart below, Russia’s underground economy blows away other major countries in terms of the size of the underground economy relative to GDP.Even Italy, where the Mafia became the largest bank in January 2012, doesn’t come close to the shadiness-relative-to-GDP of the Kremlin.

The report concludes that the “massive illicit flows from Russia and how they both drive and are driven by its huge underground economy are symptomatic of weak overall governance,” adding that implementing the recommended policy measures should be “the highest priority by the Russian Government.”

Given Russia’s glut of natural resources and how much President Vladimir Putin has benefitted from the current system, it doesn’t seem likely that curbing the underground economy will become Moscow’s highest priority anytime soon.